The Journey Home
by DragonsWillFly
Summary: The Battle of Hogwarts is over and the pain of loss is felt by everyone, but can two women change this fate? And if so, will the outcome be for the better or will it all come crashing down around them? (eventual Bellamione)
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: **_Yes... even I have jumped on the lovely time-turner fic bandwagon! Such a lovely bandwagon it is! But before any of you say, "Not another time-turner fic!" I implore you to read and see that I am going to try something a wee bit different with this one. I am also picking up a bit more steam on my other stories as well, so, hopefully, I will update one of my other stories soon! (Of course I haven't forgotten about them!) One note before you begin to read... reviews are greatly appreciated!Okay... enough with all that... on to the story!

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_**Sixth of May, 1998**_

_**From the Journal of Kingsley Shacklebolt:**_

_**Minister of Magic**_

Time, is it a place, or is it simply a misunderstanding that one can simply travel back in time and change an event? Many have pondered this same question since the very idea of time travel was invented. If it was in fact possible, could the present (which in the case of a person who has travelled to the past, the future) be changed by even the slightest decision said time-traveller makes? Would this time-paradox cause a whirlwind of catastrophic proportions within the future? Or has the present taken into account that the time-traveller has already travelled to the past, thus only confirming what decisions that are made in the future were already predetermined?

These questions and countless others have been asked by many scientists who theorise the possibility of time travel. The only reason why an answer has never been formulated is because of the constant debate on whether or not time is actually a place or whether it is all relative. (We, as witches and wizards, know that time-travel is real, but the theory of going back in times several years is considered taboo, even within our society.)

This fact is just one of the topics that will be raised within. Since time travel has been accomplished within the wizarding world (though it has been only within a few hours' time span) and the ramifications of tampering with objects and people within the past has been theorised, the truth of the matter is, it has never been fully documented with physical evidence. No evidence to prove whether or not going back in time to simply save someone's life or end someone's life has any ill effects on the future. In theory, killing a despot or saving one in the past would alter the course of history therefore altering the present, but, what if the present circumstances stand the same, only the face of who is in power changes? Could one say that the present was altered by time travel? The truth is, no one knows for certain because no one has ever tried to tamper with any major part of history while travelling back in time.

The Department of Mysteries regulates items like the Time-turner because if they were to fall into the wrong hands, who knows what would happen. Only witches and wizards of special renown can be obliged with such a privilege. One in particular is Professor Minerva McGonagall. Though her usage of the Time-turner is regulated, she is one of the few people in the wizarding community that has been given such a rare opportunity to own one. Recent developments show, however, that she no longer has possession of said Time-turner and has not had it on her person for a few years. Unregulated time-travel usage spikes were noticed in 1993, the source: Hogwarts Castle.

For years, Ministry officials have kept a close eye on the school. After the one instance, no others have followed. For five years things remained quiet within the hallowed halls of the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry, that is until the fifth of May in 1998 when yet another influx was detected. Many within the Ministry have failed to make any connection to this date. They believe that the date has no bearing on the choices of whoever has McGonagall's time-turner, but I believe it does.

On May second, the battle of Hogwarts raged. Many people died that day. Most of them Death-Eaters, but a few members of the Order of the Phoenix also left this earth. Nymphadora Lupin and her husband, Remus Lupin, perished when Death-Eaters stormed into the castle. Ron Weasley met his end while being preoccupied battling Yaxley, he never even saw the giant's foot as it crashed down from overhead. Neville Longbottom, though his bravery in battle had not been in vain, his sole kill within the battle also damned him to his own death. Right before Longbottom sliced the head off of Voldemort's serpent, Nagini, the snake had bitten the young wizard. A few hours later, his body was discovered amongst the dead in the courtyard with only the telltale sign of a snake-bite being his only wound. Then finally, the one whom was quite a shock to all of us within the wizarding community... Harry Potter, who had slipped out of the safety of the castle walls during the calm before the final showdown to try and defeat Voldemort on his own. The battle that ensued in the Forbidden Forest was never witnessed by anyone within the Order, but the account was given to us by an unlikely source: Narcissa Malfoy.

Based on her report, Harry had appeared out of nowhere and started attacking the dark wizard. The battle appeared at a stand-still, though the witch knew that the older wizard could have easily bested the boy. "It seems as if they could never quite hit one another with a spell," Mrs. Malfoy explained to me the next day.

Dumbledore had a theory that he had explained well before his death. The headmaster believed that Harry was a horcrux and that is the reason why Voldemort had such a hold on the boy's soul. Albus also told me he believed the boy would survive his encounter with the dark wizard... if only my dear old friend paid close attention to the prophecy.

_'__The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …'_

It was clear as day. Harry was never to survive his battle with the darkest wizard of our time. Even if he had, the prophecy never foretold that the Death-Eaters would ensure that the boy would never survive. Countless times, Albus had relied on the council of Severus Snape, a man that the headmaster believed was redeemed of his life as a Death-Eater proper, but it was all a ruse. Severus had never fully committed to the Light, everything that Dumbledore told the Potion's Master was revealed to Voldemort.

No one within the Order knew of this until Narcissa willingly gave inside information as to what happened during the last few months of the Dark-Lord's life. Living under the same roof as that man and his Inner Circle was hell for the youngest of the Black sisters. Only two things made it bearable for the woman: her son and her sister. A sister who was the faithful lieutenant of Voldemort. A sister who also helped her with the demise of their fearsome leader. Narcissa claims that if it wasn't for those two people, she would have lost her sanity. She almost lost it that night when her husband helped make sure The-Boy-Who-Lived would never live again. She knew she could not run away and hide. She knew she had to remain strong lest she too receive the wrath of the Dark-Lord. Even when her sister was struck down by Voldemort before her dagger finally finished him off, Narcissa remained strong.

Whoever has used the Time-Turner has to be one who was most affected by the outcome of the battle. Someone who feels the weight of guilt draped heavily upon their shoulders. That sort of survivor's guilt would cause anyone to go to extreme measures to ensure that this sort of thing should have never happened in the first place.

I, for one, can understand the appeal this sort of thing would have, but as newly appointed Minister of Magic, I, Kingsley Shacklebolt, have to do what is necessary to keep this person from causing what we at the Ministry believe would be a catastrophic turn of events. If this person is successful with their endeavours, who knows what will become of the world we know.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Fourth of May, 1998**_

Staring out at the ever darkening sky, Hermione looks down upon the war-torn courtyard of Hogwarts. Just a few days ago, this area had been a beautiful place to be. A cobble-stoned courtyard, enclosed in a high stone wall that had archways etched out every ten metres where one could look upon the lush green highland hills; all of this now lie in ruins. All that is left of the once grand courtyard is nothing more than rubble. _'It will take years of hard work before this place looks as it was before,' _the young witch thinks with a shudder.

She was so wrapped up in thinking about the past that she does not notice the door to the Headmaster's office opening with a creak.

"Miss Granger," a voice says softly so as not to startle the younger woman too much.

Hermione does not hear the voice as she continues looking out over the destruction.

The intruder gives a slight cough, causing the brunette to jump slightly at the invasion of privacy, "Miss Granger... Minerva said I would find you here. I need to have a word with you, that is, if you do not mind."

Without even turning around, Hermione knew that voice. It was a voice that she had learned to hate in the past. The voice of one of her captors, a voice that could be as cold as ice when she was speaking to anyone else besides her son. It was the voice of Narcissa Malfoy.

"What is there to talk about Ms. Malfoy? Shouldn't you be off somewhere enjoying your new found freedom?" Hermione asks, but does not wait for an answer as she turns away from the window and walks towards the door. "I don't think I have anything to say to you."

Narcissa rolls her eyes at the brunette. It has been a rough couple of days for everyone that has stayed behind in the castle and she will not tolerate childishness from a young woman that is known for her calm, collected reasoning.

"You know you are not the only one who lost friends that day!" Narcissa shouts at the retreating back of the other witch, "Damn you, Hermione. I need to talk to you! I wish you Gryffindors were not all so stubborn!"

Hermione stops at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the office she was moping in and sighs. She knows Narcissa is right, everyone lost friends and family that day, including the witch who stood at the top of the stairs. The brunette realises that even though the blonde had been her captor, she had also been the woman, along with her late sister, Bellatrix, to turn the tide in the battle. If it wasn't for Narcissa Malfoy, who knows what the outcome of the battle may have been.

Turning around and walking slowly back up the stairs she just came down, the younger witch stares at the floor when she reaches the office, "What is it you want to talk about Ms. Malfoy?"

"Listen, I know you are hurting right now, we all are..." the blonde stops and looks around the room. It looks as it did when she had attended the prestigious school, back in a time when things were more normal, or so they seemed to Narcissa at the time.

Back then the Black sisters seemed to have it all going their way. No one was repulsed by their family name, everyone respected each of them for the intelligent witches they were. It was before Andromeda had started to court the mudblood, Ted Tonks, and before Bellatrix and Narcissa were forced into their arranged marriages. Those were the good days. The days that Narcissa wished were upon her now instead of the bleak, long road to recovery that she now faces.

This is the exact reason Narcissa went to talk to Hermione today. The blonde witch knew that Minerva owned a time-turner and had, earlier, discussed in great length with a slightly intoxicated, newly appointed headmistress, Minerva had taken the Battle of Hogwarts very badly and was constantly seen around the hallowed halls smelling slightly of firewiskey, where one could put in a request for a time-turner. At the time, Narcissa knew it was a long shot to ask, seeing how much of a disarray the Ministry of Magic is at the current time, but she knew she just had to ask her old professor; maybe McGonagall could give her a few pointers on how to go about talking to a Ministry official about said item even though she knew, they will merely brush her off before she barely finished the first few stanzas of her highly prepared speech.

Minerva could not, however, give her tips on how to talk to anyone within the Ministry, but she did one better: she told Narcissa where _her _time-turner was and this is what brought her to find Hermione.

"Mrs. Malfoy? Mrs. Malfoy?!" Hermione says as she waves her hand in front of the older witch's face, "MRS. MALFOY!"

Narcissa realises that she has been silent for quite sometime and pulls herself from the grasp of her memories, "I'm sorry... I was saying something, wasn't I? Oh yes," The blond witch says as she finally remembers where her train of thought had left off, "I know we have all lost someone Hermione... we are all hurting in some form or another, but we must work together to rebuild with what we have left. We cannot dwell any longer on the past, if we are to survive our future."

The older witch knows with all of her heart that this statement she just uttered was a complete and total lie. Nothing will ever be the same, everyone lost too much for life just to pick up where it had left off before. Life may seem a bit brighter as a whole, but the darkness of loss was just too much for all to bear. Fate may have offered a boon to Narcissa in the form of the death of her husband, but that small happiness in her life was not enough to take away the pain of losing her older sister nor the torment that her son, Draco, felt every time he closed his eyes. If things were to change, the older witch knows she has to play her cards just right in order to coax the younger witch into even thinking that the idea of a different, more pleasant present was what needs to happen.

"But..." Hermione sighs as she looks up at the cracked ceiling of the Headmaster's office, "We've won. Can't we just take this time to mourn our friends and family properly? Everything is over, but the cost... I lost two of my best friends! Well... I guess they were my best friends. I spent the past seven years tolerating their company, though it could have been a bit better. I... never mind."

Sensing hesitation in the younger woman, Narcissa speaks gently as if anything louder than a whisper would scare Hermione's thoughts back into the dark recesses of her mind, "I know what you mean... it happened a lot to my sisters and I. Always known as the swot, am I right?"

The younger witch stares at Narcissa in amazement causing the older woman to chuckle slightly, "Yes, we were always known for having our noses buried within a book, but it is not something that most people remember when they think upon the Black sisters. Sure, we did have our fair share of adventures while enrolled in Hogwarts, but nothing like what I have heard you and your friends got into."

Hermione scoffs, "I would never say that I went into those adventures willingly. That I can assure you. If it wasn't one thing, it was another with those two," the younger witch turns towards Narcissa and smiles, "You know, to this day, I still do not understand why I spent as much time as I did with them. Everything that I ever did, they made a joke of it all. My heritage, my study habits... just everything, yet I still stuck with them through thick and thin."

The brunette turns away from Narcissa and walks back to the window that the older woman had found her sitting at earlier, "I had often wondered, while travelling the past few months with Ron and Harry, what my life would have been like if I had just stopped trying to fit in with them. What would everything have been like if there was no war, no suffering, and most importantly, no having to act as though I am a babysitter to two insufferable prats!"

"You didn't have to babysit them, Hermione. Dumbledore would have always found another person to do so. It wasn't as if he forced you to do it."

"I know, but I always felt obligated to do so. They saved me from a troll our first year at Hogwarts, and I guess that I always felt as though I owed them. I just wish that things would have went differently is all. I wish that I had never met them. I wish that there was no bloody war. No tyrant to have tried to take over the Wizarding world. I wish there was a way to just go back and change every single thing that had happened and keep all these innocent lives from leaving this world so early." Hermione stops and sighs for what seems like the hundredth time since Narcissa had walked into the Headmaster's office, "I must sound like a right fool for wishing things differently. I know one can not change what fate has brought upon us all, but it doesn't hurt to dream, does it?"

Mrs. Malfoy tries hard to conceal the elation she feels when she hears the younger witch confess her inner most thoughts. The blonde had anticipated these very words to fall from Hermione's lips, but was unsure when they would have been uttered. The past few days since the battle had ended, the brunette had shuffled through the corridors of Hogwarts in a melancholic state, never allowing a brief glance upon a living soul. If she did happen to glance in someone's direction and make eye-contact, the other person could see the torment that was eating away at the soul of the young woman who was once part of the Golden Trio- survivor's guilt. An emotion that could never be avoided by a person who has seen as much as Hermione has seen, yet it is an emotion that no one should ever bully themselves into taking on. As Narcissa knew, the girl had always tried to keep the two boys out of trouble. Hermione tried with all her might to keep Ron and Harry from bringing others into trouble, but no matter how hard she tried, the boys were a magnet to any and all inconveniences.

After a few moments, the youngest of the Black sisters breaks the silence, "I don't think it is foolish for you to think as you do, Hermione. One always wishes to change the past in some form or another, others just do not voice the opinion as you have." Narcissa stares at the younger witch, "I have told you before... everyone has lost someone in these past few days. Hell, everyone has lost someone since the Dark-Lord's second rise to power. Everyone just deals with it differently, take your professor for example... Minerva may act as though she remains stalwart through this rebuilding process, but you know as well as I do that she is as drunk as Aberforth's goat. What I am trying to say Hermione, is that everyone deals with grief in their own way, but one should not allow that grief to overrun their lives; if a person does not like what has become of their life they should not do as Minerva is doing and allow what is tormenting them to rule their life. The world would be so full of 'should have's', 'could have's', and 'might have's' if everyone did that. If you do not like what has become of your life, you should do something about it; and we all have a way to change what we do not appreciate in our lives, one just needs to realise that they have that tool available to them."

The blonde witch stands up to leave. Walking out the door, she grips the handle and turns one last time to look inside the room. Narcissa sees that her words have sparked a tiny thought behind Hermione's dull, sullen eyes. She knows that the brunette will never voice the thought to her personally, the older witch could only hope that Hermione would tell her what she is thinking. Narcissa would just have to wait and see if Hermione would speak to her again and only then would the older woman mention the Time-Turner that the younger woman has safely stowed away.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note: Sorry for such a short chapter, but it is a very important chapter! As always, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favourited, or followed this story! This story may seem a bit slow in the beginning, but it is all part of my master plan for this story!**_

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_**Fifteenth of May, 1998**_

_**From the Journal of Kingsley Shacklebolt:**_

_**Minister of Magic**_

Ten days have gone by since the use of Minerva's Time-Turner. Ten whole days with nothing changing at all. I have several members of the Department of Mysteries trying to locate any sort of disturbance in the past with no results. Maybe the person who is using the Time-Turner is abiding by the laws that we, in the wizarding community, have set for time-travel, but I am afraid that this is not the case.

The Time-Turner is not showing up within our recent year, so we know the suspect has travelled further back in time than what has ever been tested since the invention of the Time-Turner. The amulets that are used for time-travel were only tested for the wearer to go back, at the most, one day's time. Any amount of time more, and the wearer would be at a risk of causing a change to the time-line. These risks include: running into one's past self, having someone recognise you after seeing your past self mere moments before dressed entirely different, and the worst thing to ever possibly happen... feeling the need to change things. The change of things in the manner does not have to include major alterations within the time-line (i.e.- the signing of a bill of legislature that was previously vetoed, changing if a person has been maimed or injured, or any other example that is within the metre long parchment that is to be signed by anyone who propositions the Ministry for wanting to use a regulated Time-Turner), it could be something minor, like changing the arrangements of books or even moving a decoration in a room that may seem a bit off centre. All of these instances are examples of things that could be changed while someone is using the amulet and all of these "changes" have never been documented on how they could affect the time-line. This is why it is so important that we continue our search for the culprit. Every single day that they are gone, so many unknowns could surface and cause catastrophic events for our present.

I went to Hogwarts yesterday to have a word with Minerva about the situation that we are now faced with and I was quite appalled by her flippant attitude towards the position. I tried to remind her of the problems that might arise out of all of this and to my dismay, she merely scoffed! Of all the times when I need her level-headedness, she turns a blind eye.

In the end, she told me that she does not remember who she gave her Time-Turner to, though I can only assume that she is just saying that to merely hide the person in question. If that is the case, it is a student. A student of high-renown that is worthy of Minerva's secrecy, but I just can not recollect who that could be. After all, Harry and Ron both died within the final battle. They were known throughout Hogwarts as the Golden Duo. Thick as thieves and constantly helping the Order even though, for the most part, they were underage. They are two young wizards who will be sorely missed within the dawning of the new wizarding world, I just wish they could have seen what their sacrifice has made possible.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Fifth of May, 1998**_

_**7:00 A.M.**_

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Hermione takes a deep breath before entering the library. She knew that Narcissa would be there, but was unsure if the blonde witch was awake yet. It was seven in the morning, she knew that almost everyone who stayed behind to help rebuild the castle never woke up before nine and the young witch couldn't blame them. It has only been three days since the battle, and most of the people did not want to relive the memories of what that early morning had brought them, so most of the work was done during the afternoon but eventually the work will have to start earlier, especially if they were to stay on the schedule of opening Hogwarts's door by the start of the new semestre.

Pushing against the mahogany doors, the brunette feels the air she breathed in earlier exhale out of her lungs slowly, almost happily, as the door swings open silently. She hated how things seemed to always seem louder when one tried to be quiet. It seemed as if the inanimate objects were mocking the cautious person with their screeches of protest. Hermione often believed that it was as if the life-less objects wanted her to be caught. Always creaking, groaning, or slamming when all she wanted was to remain unnoticed.

It was something she wanted all her life. To go about said life like a shadow. How the young witch loathed the attentions she received upon entering Hogwarts. It often made her feel as though she were the woman in the novel, _The Scarlet Letter, _except, instead of the letter 'A' brandished upon her chest, it was the letter 'M'. Upon entering the prestigious wizarding school, Hermione knew she would more than likely be treated differently, just as she was at the muggle school she had attended the years prior, but she didn't realise how differently. Every single day seemed as if it were an uphill battle and everyday, something new appeared to make that struggle grow more steep.

First, it was the fact that everyone knew, as soon as her name was called out from the roster, that she was muggle-born. Then, came the classes. Oh, if only she wasn't logical and studious, the others would have let her be, but no. Most of the pure-blood witches and wizards disliked being shown up and made a fool of in front of their peers, but to be seen as less by a mudblood... the taunts grew worse after that. Being called a 'mudblood swot' was one thing, but it didn't stop there.

Around her Fourth year at Hogwarts, the names become worse. Hermione begrudgingly spent time with the duo, not because she enjoyed their company, but because she felt a sort of debt needed to be paid to the boys. After all, they did save her from a mountain troll during their First year. But the lies and accusations, to her face and behind her back, were enough for her to want to break the somewhat tentative pact she had with the boys. Whore. Harlot. Plus many more. These words hurt the worst because they were not true. She despised ever thinking it wise to spend time with the two young wizards. It was one thing to have insults thrown at you that were true, but it is quite the other when it is all lies. A mudblood swot she was, but never ever a whore. The last time someone called that to her face was their fifth year, around the time of the Yuletide ball. When a sixth year Ravenclaw called her a slut who was trying to climb the social ladder because she had managed to snag Viktor Krum as her date to the ball and the sixth year witch was just upset that Viktor had turned her down. If the Ravenclaw witch only knew that Hermione had merely danced with the 'dumber than a mountain troll' seeker for the Bulgarian Quidditch team and left the dance with a very beautiful Fleur Delacour who the young Gryffindor had a huge crush on. It was only after that night, that Hermione realised that it was all just a bet between Fleur and a few other witches from Beauxbatons to see if the half-veela witch could bed the swot of Hogwarts.

The next morning when Hermione found out, she vowed to never ever let anyone into her heart. It had pained her too much to the point where she never wanted to get out of the bed again, but she knew she must keep on going. She did not want others to see that it bothered her, so she acted as if nothing ever happened much to the consternation of the witches of Beauxbatons who quickly turned their torments onto others once they found out that their actions did not even ruffle Hermione.

"I figured you would try to seek me out today, Miss Granger," a voice calls out from the Restricted Section of the room.

"It was just a whim, I never actually thought you would be here, Ms. Malfoy," Hermione says as she moves closer to the darkened area of the library. Madam Pince, when she was alive, would make sure never to light the torches around the Restricted Section so as to keep the students from wanting to go in there. Given the type of books that were housed in the little room, most young witches and wizards stayed well away from it, except for certain members of the Golden Trio, namely the female member, who found within the dark tomes ways to defeat the Dark-Lord.

"Are you surprised to see me in the library? You shouldn't be if you were thinking I might be in here in the first place. As I told you before, my sisters and I were a lot like you in our younger years. We, more oft than not, could always be found in the library studying, doing homework, or just reading for the sheer joy of it all. It was the best way to keep warm in the winter time or cool during the summer." Narcissa closes the book she was reading and smiles, "I remember the study my parents had, granted, father would never allow us within the room, but when he was away mother would let us satiate our thirst for knowledge. Andromeda and I always loved our time in the Black family library, but it was Bella who craved it more than us. She would try to sneak in even when father was home and was he ever wroth when he found her."

Hermione sits down on a chair on the other side of the table and stares at the older woman, "Why did your father not allow you into the family library?" the younger witch asks, her mind wondering over all the reasons that Cygnus would have to keep his children away from learning.

Narcissa laughs softly as she looks about Hogwarts's library, "You see how many books are within this room, right? Well, imagine a room like this, but instead of tomes laden with spells, potions, and magical history, think instead on one of your muggle libraries. This room was considered the restricted section of our house. Inside were all of the confiscated books that the Black family hid away from the magical world."

"If they confiscated the books because they were muggle books, why did they keep them? Why not burn them instead?"

"That is something that I often wondered myself. Maybe our family thought that there might have been some sort of trickery held within the books, something that would have caused the burner of the books to die or something. Or maybe, they thought that the books might have contained a way to destroy muggles. I know not the reason behind why my ancestors did what they did, but I was happy that they did keep the books preserved. If they didn't, I would have never read the classical literature of the Western world, nor learn the meanings of the philosophies of Eastern civilisation. This knowledge is something that I have treasured for years."

Hermione sits back in her chair and stares at the blonde woman in front of her, her mind spinning, "I am sorry if I sound a bit presumptuous, but I thought you and your sisters, minus Andromeda, hated muggle-borns? But here you are telling me how much you all enjoyed reading muggle literature. I am a bit confused I must confess."

"I understand." Narcissa says, a frown creeping onto her face, "We were not always as close-minded as we seemed. Our father hated how much spirit we all seemed to have and decided to break it with the matches of our betrothal." The witch's face darkens in anger, "Lucius would have never been my first choice in a husband nor would have Rudolphus been considered a choice Bella would have ever made. She despised every and all men so much that even her marriage was never consummated. Father knew she did not appreciate the match, but knew she would never betray him on the matter. I thought she would, however it was Andy who surprised us all.

"She was to marry a Rowle. I can not remember which one now, since it was years ago, but it was a match that father knew would secure his standing within the Pure-blood ranks of the Dark-Lord's regime. Just as mine and Bella's match were..." Narcissa stares off in the distant for a few moments, her mind lost within the remembrance of things past. The memories cause her eyes to flash and dance as if she were living them all over again. After some time, the older woman realises she is not alone and shakes her head to get out of the grasp of the last spider-web tendrils of the past, "I apologise again, the past has a way of coming back to life. Also, I am sorry for my ramblings... you came searching for me for a reason and you have yet to tell me of your reasons to find me. Now what was it that you needed to see me for, Miss Granger?"

"I-i just wanted to let you know that I have been thinking about all that you said yesterday," Hermione says as she picks at an invisible splinter on the edge of the thick wooden table in between them. "I do think of how things would be different. I think about it every moment of my waking life and dream of it while sleeping. Last night, I lay in bed tossing and turning just thinking about how things could be different, but then I realised something. Things can be different!"

Narcissa looks at the younger witch and feigns surprise, "How can things be different, Miss Granger?"

The final member of the Golden Trio reaches into the pocket of her robes and pulls out a small chain with a pendant that the older woman automatically knows as a Time-Turner necklace. _'I wondered if she would have been desperate enough to change the past,' _Narcissa thinks before speaking aloud, "That is not what I think it is, is it?"

"If you are thinking that it is a Time-Turner, then yes, you are right," The young woman says as she places it carefully on the table.

"But, I thought that time travel with one of those is only a few hours?"

"It is, but I have done my research, Mrs. Malfoy. Throughout the decades, witches and wizards have only went back a few hours so as not to be tempted to change things within the present, but what we want is something that will change our current state. If I were to go back far enough in time to change how the outcome of the war was, your sister, Harry and Ron and the rest that died at the Battle of Hogwarts will live and things will be back to normal." Hermione leans forward in her chair and stares at the blonde-haired woman in front of her. Her eyes gleam with the prospect of changing the fate of the bloody battle that occurred only a few days ago.

"But what of the other people who have suffered before the battle of Hogwarts?" The older witch asks innocently.

"I... I didn't think of that," Hermione stares out across the library, though Narcissa notices the young woman sees but without looking at any of the books or tables that are within the room. "I never thought of any of that at all. I have to go." The witch stands up without getting leave from the older woman and walks towards the door, slamming it behind her as she left.

Narcissa sits alone and stares out the window after the young witch leaves. Voices echo through the corridors as the sun crawls higher in the sky, breakfast would be served soon, though she would rather stay within the solitary confines of the library, the witch knows that someone would come looking for her. So she stretches, stands, and walks slowly to the wooden door that Hermione left out of moments before. Turning back to look at the mountain of books she left behind, Narcissa lets out a sigh and opens the door. _'I hope I did not put too much stock into believing she would ever try and change the past,' _the witch thinks to herself as she crosses the threshold and enters the long winding hallway.


End file.
